Reunion
by 90's Kai
Summary: Set after season 2 finale. Neal finally finds a way to join Emma and her family as they are leaving Neverland, but not everyone is as happy as he thought.


Reunion

"And now, I need t_o know is this real love  
Or is it just madness keeping us afloat"_

_Madness by Muse._

"You!" the blonde shouted, startling Neal and the boy in his arms, who simply took a step back and taking his father's hand turned to see his mother. "How dare you?" she added pointing her finger toward him.

"Emma, please…" Neal answered as he took a couple of steps forward.

"How dare you?" She interrupted taking a step back, not really sure where all her anger was coming from.

After his fall, she had known he was alive only a couple of days later, when Aurora had contacted David through the fire room and the relive that she had experience was overwhelming, but now, when he was in front of her, the only thing she could remembered was him letting go of her hand.

"Kid," Neal murmured taking a step back and kneeling in front of him. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Emma's anger in front of Henry. "Can you go with Regina for a sec?" he asked turning his head in the direction of the bow, where she was sitting in the floor.

Henry, watching his blonde mother, nodded and slowly started to walk towards his other mother. After all that had happen in the last couple of weeks, all the running, fighting and escaping his family had done, he didn't expect Emma to be that angry or Regina that calm.

"Emma, please, you know I did the best…"

"You abandoned us again," Emma interrupted as her tears started to blur her vision, making Neal stand still. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted, making everyone onboard look in their direction before quietly resuming their activities and as they did, Neal straightened up his back and before Emma could do or say anything, he took two long steps forward and wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't know," he whispered in Emma's ear while she struggled to back away. "I'm sorry," he added as Emma kept fighting "But I'm not letting go again, so you might as well stop fighting."

"You selfish bastard," she countered finally landing a punch on his side, allowing her to finally push him away. "I asked you not to let go, but you…"

"Emma, please, know you would have done the same thing," he interrupted putting a hand over the place she had hit and taking a new step.

"No, I wouldn't have," she lied, turning away from him and looking into the ocean. It was a quiet night, Emma noticed as she reached for the railing. _Would she have done the same?_ She wondered. David had said the same thing almost a month ago, but was it truth? "Maybe, I don't know," Emma acknowledged watching from the corner of her eye as Neal adopted the same position as her.

"All I wanted was to keep Henry away from the pain we suffered growing up as we did," he said with a calm voice. "I had to let go, to protect him and you."

"I don't need your protection, I never have."

"I know," Neal murmured looking dead ahead. He knew that was the truth. Since he had met Emma, she was always the strong one, the one that kept them moving ahead. She was the one that had made him want to be a better man and she was the one that had come up with a plan to start their live together. She was the one that had said "I love you" first, two times. And him? He was the one that had let her down; he was the one that had broken her heart, twice, and he knew that. "I'm s…"

"You don't have to apologize," Emma murmured before he got the chance to finish. "It's not like you regret your choices."

"I regret what I did twelve years ago," he clarified; making Emma turned his face towards him. Even in the dim moonlight she could clearly see his face and all the guilt writing over it. "I was selfish, I should have stay with you and help you with your destiny, but I was too scared to face my own father and for that I will never forgive myself."

"You should," Emma whispered as Neal's eyes met hers. "As you said, it was twelve years ago," she explained without being able to look away.

"I love you," Neal replied putting one of his arms over Emma's shoulders.

"I know," and with that the blonde turned her head toward the horizon, at the same time as her body scooted closer to Neal's body. After all the pain they had gone through, why were they still holding on? "Sorry I called you selfish bastard" she murmured.

"Sorry for being selfish," he answered. "And I'm sorry for letting go."

"Don't ever do it again," Emma warned him, turning again to him. "If something like that ever happens again, you better fight as hell. Not giving up, no matter what."

"Like I said, I'm never ever letting go again," Neal muttered looking at her eyes. "I promise," he added leaning closer to her, leaving his forehead pressed against hers before she lifted her face and finally kissed him. It was a sweet and joyful kiss, the kind of kiss they constantly shared all those years ago.

"I love you too," Emma whispered when they parted, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I know," he chuckled, finally letting go of all the pain and hurt that all those years apart had created.

_"It must be true love  
Nothing else can break my heart like true love  
True love, it must be true love"_

_True Love by P!nk._

* * *

Free time and love for this couple led me to write it, this is my take on how they reunion would be, so I'm pretty sure that by the time we are though the first have of the 3rd season, this will be AU but I had fun writing it. I don't have a beta, so all errors are mine.

And I would love to know what you thought of it :)


End file.
